Jean Fiedler fills out her ballot during early voting at the Green Bay city clerk's office on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. / H. Marc Larson/Press-Gazette

Written by

SCOTT BAUER

The Associated Press

Absentee voting remained robust across Wisconsin with Friday's deadline to cast ballots in person approaching and both presidential candidates stressing early voting in the waning days of the campaign.

More than 412,000 people had either requested absentee ballots or voted early at clerks' offices through Wednesday, the state's elections board reported Thursday.

It's impossible to know how that compares with the same point four years ago, when 20 percent of people voted absentee. Comparable numbers from 2008 are not available from the Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections.

In 2008, 633,610 absentee ballots were cast. Of those requested so far this year, 256,277 were in person at clerks' offices and 156,334 were by mail and other methods. Final absentee numbers for this year won't be compiled until after the election.

Both presidential campaigns have said they are ahead in early voting efforts in targeted counties. But because voters don't register by party in Wisconsin and don't have to say whether they are Republican or Democrat when requesting absentee ballots, it's difficult to know which side is actually doing better.

A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday indicated that Democrats were outperforming Republicans in early voting.

Of the 10 percent of survey respondents who said they had already voted, 56 percent said they voted for Obama and 36 percent said they voted for Romney. In the U.S. Senate race, 52 percent voted for Democrat Tammy Baldwin and 36 percent for Republican Tommy Thompson.

Among all likely voters polled, Obama led Romney 51 percent to 43 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

There was another long line Thursday morning outside the election clerk's office in Democrat-heavy Madison. Retired phone company worker and Obama supporter Jerry Kennedy was one of the first ones in line before the doors opened at 8 a.m. He said he wanted to vote early to "get 'er done."

"I actually came out yesterday but the line was too long," he said.

In Republican-heavy Waukesha County near Milwaukee, Romney supporter Randy Vogler voted on Wednesday to make sure he got his ballot in.

"You never know what tomorrow holds," he said.

Wisconsin remains in the crosshairs in the final days of the presidential race as Romney likely needs to win its 10 electoral votes if he can't take Ohio, where polls show Obama ahead. Obama also was emphasizing Wisconsin's importance, with three visits planned over five days.

Obama campaigned Thursday near Green Bay, and former President Bill Clinton was in Waukesha. Obama planned to return to the state two more times before the election. Once on Saturday for an appearance with pop star Katy Perry in Milwaukee and then for a final rally on Monday in Madison, a liberal college town where he attracted 30,000 people last month.

Romney planned to campaign Friday in West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb. Vice President Joe Biden also was slated to make appearances Friday in Beloit and Superior.